206: I'm in Love with Jennifers

And I am telling you
I'm not going.
You're the best man I'll ever know.
There's no way I can ever go,
No, no, no, no way,
No, no, no, no way I'm livin' without you.
I'm not livin' without you.
I don't want to be free.
I'm stayin',
I'm stayin',
And you, and you, you're gonna love me.
Ooh, you're gonna love me.

So, I’ve read somewhere, in some gossipy blog, that Beyoncé and her family are furious at the attention Jennifer Hudson, her co-star in the upcoming Broadway musical movie, Dreamgirls, is receiving. There’s even a talk of an Oscar for Jennifer, an American Idol loser, for her role as Effie. No wonder Miss I’m-A-Grammy-Winning-Diva is upset. But that’s all hearsay. Still, it’s a good juicy gossip.

Anyway, I get the sense that as a gay man, I’m supposed to have, um, a certain affinity for show tunes and the divas who’ve sung them. Who am I kidding? I do show this “gay” trait. Let’s face it, I am a stereotype.

The thing is Jennifer Hudson is reprising a role on film Jennifer Holliday made famous on Broadway. My first encounter with Jennifer Holliday was from her role as, Lisa Knowles, the choir singer and the spurned fiancée of a preacher on Fox’s Allie McBeal. I’ve heard her sing, and I was astounded by how good, no, great, she was. What I didn’t know was that she was already very famous with my people. You see, I’ve been a little late in discovering Dreamgirls. And oh my God, just listening to her sing “And I Am Telling You” on the Original Broadway Cast Album of Dreamgirls, I had chills, son, chills! Wait. I just found something in YouTube. It’s the 1982 Tony’s Performance by the cast. Remember when I said I had chills? Holy cow! A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.

Tear down the mountains,
Yell, scream and shout.
You can say what you want,
I'm not walkin' out.
Stop all the rivers,
Push, strike, and kill.
I'm not gonna leave you,
There's no way I will.

Where was I? Oh, yes. Jennifer Holliday won a Tony for her performance, and I’ve wondered, when I heard that Hollywood was making a movie version of the musical, if anyone can top that great emotive, powerful sound of Jennifer Holliday. Enter, Jennifer Hudson. I have yet to see her performance, but a few days ago, somehow the movie soundtrack got into my possession, and I’ve have heard Hudson’s take on the famous song.

People, she’s great. She’s amazing. She’s equally emotive and powerful as Holliday. Not only does Hudson embody Holliday, but she makes the song hers—it’s something, I think, Simon Cowell would say to the American Idol contestants he likes. But I think you’ll end up loving Jennifer Hudson after hearing her. Except, I guess Beyoncé and the Knowles family.

And I am telling you
I'm not going.
You're the best man I'll ever know.
There's no way I can ever, ever go,
No, no, no, no way,
No, no, no, no way I'm livin' without you.
Oh, I'm not livin' without you,
I'm not livin' without you.
I don't wanna be free.
I'm stayin',
I'm stayin',
And you, and you, and you,
You're gonna love me.
Oh, hey, you're gonna love me,
Yes, ah, ooh, ooh, love me,
Ooh, ooh, ooh, love me,
Love me,
Love me,
Love me,
Love me.
You're gonna love me.

From Dreamgirls: And I Am Telling You